Sometimes I wonder if the service providers we pay to serve us have the orientation to serve or to lord over us?
I have an emotional attachment to Société Generale Ghana, primarily because when Barclays Bank and Ghana Commercial Bank refused to open a bank account for me as a student, many years ago, SG Ghana did. Secondly, SG Ghana is the only bank where I have a relationship manager. But I have a serious bone to pick with them.
A lady friend of mine (name withheld) needed to boost her MTN Mobile Money monthly transaction threshold, so she can transact with more money through her mobile money wallet than she is allowed to do currently. She is a business woman.
Per the regulations on the threshold she wants to get to, MTN asked her to go bring a STAMPED and SIGNED bank statement from her bankers. She went for the statement as SG, Fanofaa Branch and paid GHC15 for it. But the bank refused to sign and stamp the statement, saying that their NEW POLICY is that because their logo and contact numbers are on the statement, MTN can contact them if they have any doubt. So no need to sign and stamp.
The lady took the statement to MTN and they insisted that they needed the STAMP and SIGNATURE for authentication purposes, because in this technology era, it is easier and less cumbersome to fake logos than to fake signatures and stamps. So the lady returned to the bank and they still refused to sign and stamp the statement.
As I speak now, she has still not been able to boost her threshold and it is affecting her business.
I can understand MTN because their demand for stamp and signature is about protecting the customer, in case someone has faked the customers details to get access into her MoMo account. But I don’t get SG for insisting on a policy that shortchanges the customer for no reason.
What at all would it cost to sign and stamp a statement after charging a whopping GHC15 for it? Are you instituting policies relevant to the needs of your customers or you are just seeking your own comfort?
A customer may come for a statement, like I have personally done in the past, without needing a stamp and signature. But another customer may need those, depending on the purpose of the statement. So why insist on this irrelevant one-size-fits-all policy, particularly when you are charging for the statement?
This is totally unacceptable. SG you must sign and stamp the statement for the lady. I don’t want to use harsh terms on you because of the love affair I have with you. But this is not cool at all. You cannot insist on such irrelevant policies in this day and age. It is obviously not working. It does not meet the customer’s needs. Get off your horses and do what is right by the customer.
If that lady was Ken Agyepong, or Jospong, or Ibrahim Mahama, or Shatta Wale, or any of those people who have millions in banks, would they have told the person the “nansins” they told the lady.
Bank of Ghana must call them to book.
I’ll be monitoring.
